Own flat/apartment? (Portland: apartment complex, rentals, coop)

[Ercrini]

Hello there folks, my wife and I we're moving to Portland next month and we're new permanent residents, but we don't have any credit history in the US ( I do from the UK if it could help ). I have been looking on Zillow that there are plenty of 1 bedroom apartments to rent and we were wondering how can we get our nest when we arrive?
Thanks

[texasdiver]

First of all, it doesn't sound like you know for sure it is going to be a problem until you apply. You won't have been the first person from overseas to look for an apartment in the Portland area.

If the big management companies are shy to rent from you due to lack of credit history in the US then you might try small scale landlords who tend to advertise on places like Craigslist. They are going to be less likely to be bound by corporate formulas and algorithms and such.

[StealthRabbit]

I suggest lining up a group of places to have applications / options available when you arrive.

Do you have any means to 'network', i.e. job / friends / family / organizations?

I never advertise my rentals publically, prefer to get new tenants via referrals / contacts. (Safer that way and easier to screen).

Depends what you want, area, and your price range, but there are a lot of seniors who rent out Mother-in-law / guest homes / private qtrs. they will not be advertised as rentals. (for safety sake, and to prescreen without being forced to "Fair Housing Act" (accept all comers whether axe murders, registered offenders...or with 14 kids and extended family living together).

This time of yr is ripe for "House-sitting" in PNW (many people leave for sunshine). Last yr a C-D poster got a great (free) deal on luxury home near Portland, He found it on a house-sitting website. He was able to stay for 5 months and had time to find a permanent place in the meantime. Covid may be reducing the number of people snow-birding... heading south for winter. Often seniors return just in time to pay taxes (April 15, as by then Portland weather is improiving and in a couple of months it will be dry enough to garden.

[Ercrini]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

First of all, it doesn't sound like you know for sure it is going to be a problem until you apply. You won't have been the first person from overseas to look for an apartment in the Portland area.

If the big management companies are shy to rent from you due to lack of credit history in the US then you might try small scale landlords who tend to advertise on places like Craigslist. They are going to be less likely to be bound by corporate formulas and algorithms and such.

Thank you! We'll have a look on Craiglist as well

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

I suggest lining up a group of places to have applications / options available when you arrive.

Do you have any means to 'network', i.e. job / friends / family / organizations?

I never advertise my rentals publically, prefer to get new tenants via referrals / contacts. (Safer that way and easier to screen).

Depends what you want, area, and your price range, but there are a lot of seniors who rent out Mother-in-law / guest homes / private qtrs. they will not be advertised as rentals. (for safety sake, and to prescreen without being forced to "Fair Housing Act" (accept all comers whether axe murders, registered offenders...or with 14 kids and extended family living together).

This time of yr is ripe for "House-sitting" in PNW (many people leave for sunshine). Last yr a C-D poster got a great (free) deal on luxury home near Portland, He found it on a house-sitting website. He was able to stay for 5 months and had time to find a permanent place in the meantime. Covid may be reducing the number of people snow-birding... heading south for winter. Often seniors return just in time to pay taxes (April 15, as by then Portland weather is improiving and in a couple of months it will be dry enough to garden.

We're totally new and coming in Portland mainly because it's affordable and it has a public transportation that we can use while we'll be familiar or capable of driving a car.
We come from Europe UK and renting a llace for a 1k per month ( not including bills ) would be ideal since in London you're tied down with the house share which is horrible habing like 5 rooms and 6 people in a house...
Is Portland open to diversity? I'm European and my wife is Korean

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Ercrini

...
We're totally new and coming in Portland mainly because it's affordable and it has a public transportation that we can use while we'll be familiar or capable of driving a car.
We come from Europe UK and renting a llace for a 1k per month ( not including bills ) would be ideal ...
Is Portland open to diversity? I'm European and my wife is Korean

The entire left coast of USA is quite open to multi-race ethnicity. (and beyond)

$1k will be quite tight to find a private rental place in Portland near transit.

might look at USA sites...
Zumper
Padmapper
https://www.apartments.com/portland-or/

Maybe FB Marketplace or Offerup (Not sure they list properties).

I think your best bet will be to rent ST place and THEN find out where you want to be, and walk those neighborhoods looking for signs for rent. or better yet, find some friends who can refer you. I would be apprehensive to rent a place for a yr since you may not like the place, neighborhood, or a screaming good deal might fall into your lap. (we rent a 2000sf living space with a fabulous view for ~ $1000/ month (3 miles from occasional transit, but >30 min to downtown, min to PDX - driving not transit). You should find plenty like ours. (if you hunt / network)

Once you know your preferred spots and neighborhoods, let us know, we can go hunting for you. When is your proposeed arrival date? I have taken several C-D posters on private house hunting tours (usually in Camas, Washougal and east Vancouver, but also other areas, We all have our favorite spots in Portland, so when we know more about you... we can align with your objectives. If you show up in April, I will be frequently enjoying the many parks so in Portland several times / week - Through CMNW.org final week. I can't be thankful enough for my many excellent hosts in UK!!! during the last 50 yrs. Really special stays and private tours and meals / pubs, country homes. Last trip to Wales, the hosts really took us under their wing and made our few monthss there very entertaining and special. (No charge for housing, food or tours). They had left High Tech employment in 2000, and bought and resold boutique hotels and hostels and manor homes, so they knew how to entertain.

Most of our UK time is spent with good friends near Lancashire, though we have stayed many times in central and southern UK. I'm sure you can offer suggestions and assistance for our next trip to UK.

Driving is really no problem, Portland is pretty mellow and wide roads. Keep the steering wheel to the center of roadway and stay right (away from center) when traveling slower than traffic. Watch those LEFT turns!!! If 6 lanes of traffic is coming straight at you... your steering wheel is toward the outside of road, not the inside (or you entered a One-way street, the wrong way.) Transit should be your friend. but cars and fuel in USA are really cheap. Hopefully you can find a car-share entitiy or a coop housing that shares a few cars.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Generally, persons of foreign nationality are coming because they have a work visa. Almost always, businesses that hire foreign nationals will have a department that helps those newly imported workers to find a place to live. That is where I suggest that you start.


Also, be prepared to show your legal immigration documents, both for yourself and your wife. Many housing providers do not rent to undocumented aliens so you will want to show that you are in the country legally with a legal visa.


You will have to show income (and right back to "your new employer should be helping you")


A credit report from the UK is much better than nothing, plus some proof that you really are coming into this country now, instead of having lived here for years, cheating, lying, and amassing a criminal record and then claiming to be newly arrived just so that the housing provider can not check your record.


Either a letter of recommendation from your current landlord or else proof that you owned your own house in the UK would be an immense positive for your application.


Your passports are excellent identification.


I'd be surprised if your wife runs into any sort of racially motivated problem, but there are a few creeps and idiots everywhere you might go, anywhere in the world, so that is not a 100% guarantee. Nor is there any guarantee that you yourself will never run into anyone who dislikes the British no matter their skin color. But it is unlikely.

[rainierman]

Welcome to the U.S. side of British Columbia! Quite a few Europeans and Koreans here, so you're not unicorns. Korean churchgoers are the most visible of Koreans, but its large enough to be both religious/non-religious.

In re banks and loans, get a HSBC UK or Barclays UK unsecured loan, deposit your UK personal account for show-and-tell purposes. They should have overseas account services for you. You may open a HSBC or Barclays US account using yours or family UK address.

https://www.banking.barclaysus.com/index.html
https://www.us.hsbc.com/

My good suggestions: For a fast turnaround without knowing anyone, enroll at Portland State University downtown to get access to adult/married/family housing, and you're done.

https://www.pdx.edu/housing/rates

Once you have ensured a better place in 3 months, drop out, move out, or finish the certificate at your new home. The Cyan PDX apartments near PSU is a modern beauty among the medical workforce.

My bad/fun suggestion: Go to the posh Pearl District, where tenants have been leaving due to virus and protests. The place is a ghost town. Rent is dropping. Show a good-faith large deposit, bank account funds etc. Utilize your best scarf, RP and mannerisms to impress upon every skewed yank stereotype about Britons. Kid you not, some landlords/agents will eat it up, advocate for you, and thank the goddesses. Good luck!

[AbhiA]

Originally Posted by texasdiver

First of all, it doesn't sound like you know for sure it is going to be a problem until you apply. You won't have been the first person from overseas to look for an apartment in the Portland area.

If the big management companies are shy to rent from you due to lack of credit history in the US then you might try small scale landlords who tend to advertise on places like Craigslist. They are going to be less likely to be bound by corporate formulas and algorithms and such.

We landed in Portland 4 years back from abroad without any US credit history. The apartment complex called my employer to verify my credentials as well as took a higher deposit equivalent to 1 month rent.
Just fyi. YMMV.